


If you want, we'll help tonight to split its seams

by siriuslyrose



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Gangs, Hurt Jughead Jones, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Jughead Jones, Protective Serpents, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 01:17:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13020204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siriuslyrose/pseuds/siriuslyrose
Summary: Jughead Jones didn't understand what it meant to be loyal to the Serpents; but he was starting to.Or The Five Times Jughead Jones has a Serpents back + the one time they have his





	If you want, we'll help tonight to split its seams

**Author's Note:**

> set during early season two

**One**

 Jughead Jones had been a member of the Southside Serpents for a week before he even began to understand what being a part of a gang meant. Despite Sweet Pea making it very clear to him that being a Serpent meant that they all had each other’s backs, Jughead still didn’t get it. He had friends before, friends like Archie Andrews who believed in everything so whole heartedly that it was pretty hard to understand the difference a tattoo could make. 

 But he was starting to understand, he began noticing that going home at night, didn’t mean being away from your friends. That people don’t ask if he has lunch anymore, they just put some of theirs on his plate when they think no one is looking. He’s not the odd kid out anymore.

Nobody gives him looks of pity when he is with the Serpents. 

He thinks a lot of that is because of Toni. She was his friend even before he was initiated, and he knows that she vouched for him, even if she’d never admit it. 

Which is why he didn’t even think before he started walking towards her, when he saw Toni squaring up with a Ghoulie in the carpark behind Southside High.

He could see how tense she was, standing in front of her motorcycle, backpack discarded on the ground as she yelled at the boy in front of her. Jughead doesn’t know his name, but the smirk on his face as Toni yells at him, is enough to make Jughead already hate him. 

“Why don’t you stay away from shit that doesn’t belong to you!” Jughead could hear Toni yell. As he got closer he could begin to make out the keyed marks on the side of her bike. No doubt the work of the Ghoulie in front of her. 

“What suddenly against vandalism now snake?” The guy smirks, running his tongue over his lips. Jughead kinda wants to punch him, but Toni beats him to it. The Ghoulie’s hand comes to his face in shock.

Jughead slides up behind Toni, and she doesn’t look his way. She knows the other Serpents will have her back; and he wonders how long until he will be sure of the same thing. 

The Ghoulie looks like he’s deciding on whether to continue the fight, but the sight of the other Serpents make him pause. There are more people around them now, and Jughead thinks there are other Serpents, but he doesn't check. He wants to have the same faith in his friends that Toni does, to know they will be there when things go wrong. 

“You got a problem Phoenix?” It’s Sweet Pea’s voice and it comes from just behind Jughead. Phoenix looks over the group, before scoffing and walking away, knowing when he is outnumbered. They all watch him leave, gazes hard and synchronised, they’re stronger as a group, and Jughead is finally starting to get comfortable with that. 

When Phoenix disappears back inside the school, Jughead turns to Toni who is running her fingers across the fresh scratches marking the outside of her gas tank. 

“You think you can fix it?” Jughead asks. 

 “Maybe. I dunno. Not without a bit of cash.” She huffs, clearly annoyed. She turns and looks up at him, a smirk growing on her lips.

 “What?”

 “Careful there Jughead. You’re starting to look very comfortable in that jacket.” 

 

**TWO**

When Jughead learns that Fangs has never eaten at Pops, he tries to not to be offended. He really does. But honestly how can these people expect him to hang out with them when they don’t even understand the value of one of Pop’s burgers. And so, a few hours after Jughead learns of this, he is dragging Fangs down to Pop’s. 

He was surprised at first, at how quickly Fangs agreed to go. Jughead is very used to being on the outside, and a lot of that includes people shutting you down. Things are still fresh with the Serpents, and he’s still expecting to be shut down far more often then he is. Sweet Pea especially was very sceptical of him, but the side glances are becoming less often, and soon he hopes to drag him to Pop’s as well. 

Fangs offers to drive, so the pair get into Fangs’ rusty sedan and head North to Pops. 

It’s weird coming through this side of town now, what once used to be comforting and normal was beginning to feel more dangerous. Like he was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be, despite growing up here. The Northside had never felt unsafe before, but the Black Hood’s presence has changed everything.

Jughead notices the ways Fangs’ body language shifts once they’re in the Northside. The way his usually relaxed features are grow more tense, he looks constantly on edge, as though expecting someone to jump him. It’s not usually the attitude that Jughead associates with the sunnier side of Riverdale. But with murders on the loose, and a war on the Southside being committed by the Riverdale police, it feels safer with Fangs there. Like if anything does happen, at least someone has his back. 

They pull up at Pops, and Fangs is looking excited, despite his general tenseness. 

“These burgers better not suck Jones, you have built it up way too much now.” Fangs tells him, locking the car. Jughead laughs. 

“I promise you, Pop Tate has never disappointed me.” They walk into the diner together and Jughead falters at the door when he spots Reggie Mantle in the far booth with a date. Hardly Riverdale High’s toughest villain, but certainly someone Jughead would like to avoid if he could.  

Fangs doesn’t notice his hesitation and walks up to the counter, and begins to order their food. Jughead ignores Reggie’s loud voice and joins Fangs at the counter. They order their food and Pop Tate shakes Fangs’ hand and tells him it is lovely to meet him, and Fangs is a little taken back by the action. 

“He do that to everyone?” Fangs asks as they slide into a booth.

“Pretty much. Pop Tate is kind like that,” Fangs nods thoughtfully, and Jughead is reminded again why the Serpents band together the way they do. If teenagers are surprised by someone shaking their hand, then it makes sense why they try and herd together. 

Their food arrives quickly, and Jughead wishes that he filmed Fangs taking his first bite. 

“Holy shit.” He says through a mouthful of food, eyes bright. 

“Right?” Jughead replies, digging into his own food. 

“Fucking Northsiders man. They get the best shit,” Fangs says taking a sip of his chocolate milkshake. Jughead smiles, and can’t find himself disagreeing. 

They eat together silently, bar Fangs grumbles of delight, and Jughead’s amused laughter. Jughead counts it as a success, his initial worries gone. 

Of course, this would be the moment Reggie Mantle would decide that Jughead’s life could only be peaceful for a few minutes at a time. 

“Hey! Who told you snakes that it was okay for you to eat here?” Reggie’s voice gets louder as he walks towards them, his eyes widen he spots Jughead. “Hey, check it out, it’s Jack Skellington and one of his new slippery friends.”

“What do you want Reggie?” Jughead deadpans, trying to ignore the way Fangs’ body language is growing more defensive by the second. 

“Well I was coming here to tell you to head back to the more appropriate side of town, but now I’m interested. How’s life on the darker side Jones? Helped murder any high school quarterbacks yet?” Reggie sneers. 

Fangs leaps forward before Jughead can respond, pushing himself into Reggie’s personal space, as though they are animals fronting before they maul each other. Jughead jumps between the two and moves them a part. Despite how well Fangs could handle this, he has been dealing with Reggie for years. 

“What not interested in having a Bulldog kick some Serpent ass again?” Fangs hisses at Reggie, in a shockingly snake like manner that makes Jughead want to face palm. Instead he turns to Reggie, standing in front of Fangs.

“Go away Reggie, don’t you have some other teenage outcasts that you should be emotionally scaring right now?” Jughead has never been less interested in dealing with Reggie, but he needs to stop this before it gets too far. 

“And yet you Southside freaks walked into my diner. You can’t tempt a boy like that.” There is still an edge to Reggie’s voice, but less of one now that he realises it’s an uneven fight. 

“Piss off Reggie. Riverdale High doesn’t own Pop’s diner. Surely even your small mind can understand that.” 

“Nope. This is bulldog territory, you want to be here, you get permission. Your little snake there- don’t have permission.” Jughead’s eyes flash, and he does his best to ignore Fangs’ continuing hisses. 

“We can go where we want Reggie. And not you or any other _bulldog_ will change that.” Jughead’s mouth curls around the word bulldog, like it’s poisonous. 

“Damn, didn’t think you would trade Andrews off that easily Jones. You impress me. But you ain’t the only one with tough friends, so maybe you should back off.” Jughead pauses at the mention of Archie, one of the only people that through this whole Serpent transition, that Jughead really misses. 

“Your friends aren’t like mine Reggie. And we both know that yours won’t all come when you call.” Jughead reached into one of his pockets and Reggie’s eyes follow his hand. 

“Whatever, you’re not even worth it.” Reggie scoffs, walking back to his booth. When Reggie sits back down, so do Jughead and Fangs.

“‘m sorry about that. I didn’t know he’d be here.” Jughead murmurs apologetically. Fangs shrugs, but Jughead can see how tense he is. Guilt settles in his stomach, the same way it always does whenever someone from Riverdale High interacts with the Serpents. 

“Not your fault. Northsiders think they own Riverdale, it’s why we gotta stick together. Stronger in numbers and all that.” Fangs says, flicking around some of the fries on his plate. 

“Did you really hiss at him though?” Fangs eyes flicker up at the note of humour in Jughead’s voice.

“Yeah dude! Northsiders shit themselves at that shit! Plus, we gotta be on brand and all that.” 

Jughead’s laughter echoes through Pop’s diner, loud enough that neither Serpent notices Reggie’s exit. 

 

**THREE**

It’s a Thursday night at the Whyte Wyrm, and Jughead is tired. Most people have already headed home, and only a handful of Serpents remain. Sweet Pea included. 

Sweet Pea is lounged out on one of the couches pressed into a back corner of the bar. It’s often the place where the younger Serpents can be found crowding during the day, but now it’s empty. 

Jughead knows he should probably head home soon, but he doesn’t like being at the trailer alone. His father’s absence is always made more apparent in the silence surrounding Jughead. It’s lonely, despite how good it can be for writing. 

Jughead finds himself walking over to Sweet Pea, curious as to why the other boy is here so late.

“Still here?” Sweet Pea asks the approaching figure. Jughead nods and takes a seat at the end of the couch. Sweet Pea looks down at him, but doesn’t say anything else.

“You?” Sweet Pea shrugs, and it occurs to Jughead that maybe Sweet Pea isn’t here by choice. It’s certainly not the first time he has seen him here this late. 

“You should come crash at mine tonight. I got an extra bed and it’s probably more comfortable then this couch.” Jughead says casually, and Sweet Pea laughs.

“Doubt it Jones, this couch is pretty comfortable.” 

“I’m sure it is, but at least in the trailer you won’t have to listen to Tall Boy’s shitty karaoke.” The pair look over to the stage, where Tall Boy and another Serpent are drunkingly singing along to a rock song Jughead doesn’t know the name of.

“See now that sounds like a good deal, but I still think I’ll have to pass.” Sweet Pea hasn’t looked at Jughead since he offered him a place to sleep. 

“Come on Sweet Pea, let’s make this less awkward for both of us. I know what it looks like when someone doesn’t have a place to sleep. Let me help you out.” Sweet Pea’s gaze hardens slightly, but doesn’t turn away from the stage.

“I do have a place to sleep, don’t start projecting your shit onto me man.” 

“A bar is not a place to sleep.” 

“Will you piss off. God; how did I not realise you were this nosey?” Sweet Pea grumbles. 

“Look it’s just as much for my benefit as it is yours.” Sweet Pea snorts and finally looks at him.

“How’s that?” This time Jughead is the one who is uncomfortable. 

“Don’t like being alone in that thing at night. It’s very creepy.” Jughead’s tone holds sarcasm, but Sweet Pea understands what he means. Probably more than any of the other Serpents.

“Wow Jones, more of a pansy then I thought.” His words are harsh, but Jughead can see the way that Sweet Pea’s relaxed slightly.

“Yeah, huge pansy. You gonna be the scary serpent to scare away all the monsters for me?” Jughead laughs.

“Well when you phrase it like that, how can I say no?” Sweet Pea grins. Jughead smiles back and stands.

“In that case, we should head out soon. I am starting to think this singing might be worse than any monsters waiting for me at that trailer.” Just as Jughead says the words, Tall Boy lets out a high pitch screech to accompany a guitar solo happening on the screen behind him. 

“You might not be wrong about that.” Sweet Pea winces. 

Both Serpents head outside and get on their motorcycles and head towards the trailer park in silence. 

The arrive outside the trailer, and dismount from their bikes. Jughead can see that Sweet Pea has gotten very tense again. Likely about to find a reason to bail.

“See what I mean about the creep factor.” Jughead says gesturing to the dark trailer. Sweet Pea laughs softly and nods.

“I get why you had to bring in the toughest, not many could handle this.” Sweet Pea says quietly as they entered the trailer. 

“I hope this is okay.” Jughead says to Sweet Pea later, handing him a pillow. Sweet Pea takes it awkwardly with a smile. Both boys stand awkwardly in the trailer’s small kitchen area, unsure what to say.

“Thanks for uh- letting me crash.” Sweet Pea says sincerely. 

“It’s um. Yeah no, it’s cool. It sucks not having a place to sleep at night, so you can stay here as long as you need.” Sweet Pea nods, and Jughead is thankful to be able to help Sweet Pea the same way Archie helped him. 

“Anyway, if you need anything just give us a heads up.” Sweet Pea nods, and the both head off to their separate bedrooms. 

Jughead lies in his bed and thinks about Archie. He wonders if this is what it felt like for him when he realised Jughead didn’t have a place to stay. Although it probably isn’t. Jughead knows Sweet Pea can handle himself, knows he doesn’t need anyone to look after him. But still, it feels nice knowing that Sweet Pea doesn’t have to sleep in the Whyte Wyrm. Nice knowing that maybe he will have a good night’s sleep. 

He can’t figure out when being a Serpent went from being a security measure to being around people he wanted to protect. 

 

**FOUR**

It was three days after Sheriff Keller and Mayor McCoy’s first organised raid on Southside High when Jughead gets a text from Archie. He’s heading out to lunch, when the message comes through. 

_From:_ Archie 

_Thnk Sheriff Keller is planning another raid. You should bail, just in case,_

 Jughead looks down at his phone in alarm and quickly replies.

  _To:_ Archie

_What? How do you know?_

_From:_ Archie

_Kevin mentioned something. Look it might be nothing but it doesn’t hurt for you to be prepared._

Jughead goes to respond, but he catches a glimpse of Sheriff Keller’s car pulling up to the school, out the window. He decides to run. Again. 

But this time he isn’t leaving behind any Serpents. He runs through the school in the direction of the parking lot, looking around for any other Serpents on his way. He spots Sweet Pea and Fangs walking towards the cafeteria, and tries to make a discreet bee line towards them. He catches them just before they walk inside.

“We need to go. Now.” He says quietly as soon as he is close enough. They look up at him in surprise. 

“What?” Fangs asks. 

“I think the cops are about to do another raid. We need to leave.” Jughead hisses.

“Fuck.” Sweet Pea says, the three Serpents immediately begin running for the parking lot. 

They make it outside, just in time to hear Sheriff Keller and his officers, slamming open the school’s front doors, and the surprised yells from students.  

There are some Serpents sitting out in the carpark already, and a handful of Ghoulies crowded down one corner. Jughead yells to all of them.

“RAID!” The words sends everyone to their feet, and on their various bikes and cars. 

Jughead and Sweet Pea get on their bikes and lead the way out, Fangs car close behind. They pull away from the school before any cops can make their way down to the back of the school.  

They drive straight to the trailer park, knowing that the Whyte Wyrm wasn’t a place they should be if the cops were out looking for reasons to arrest Serpents. 

They pull up at the trailer, and Jughead suddenly remembers Toni.

“Shit. Did you guys see if Toni got out?” He asks Sweet Pea and Fangs as he dismounts his bike. 

“She skipped school today. She should be fine.” Fangs assures, jumping out of his car.

“How the fuck did you know there was gonna be raid?” Sweet Pea asks exasperated. 

“Archie texted me. Said he heard from Keller’s son that they might be having another raid today.” 

“This the same Archie who waved a gun in my face?” Jughead nodded. “Your friend has really conflicting feelings towards Serpents.” 

Jughead smiles awkwardly, knowing that Archie telling him about the raid had nothing to do with any other Serpents. There are police sirens in the distance and the three boys share a look, before moving quickly inside. 

Neither of them mention that Jughead came looking for them, they don’t need to. Jughead had their back, like a Serpent was supposed to. The words _No Serpent stands alone_ echo in his head. 

“These pigs are corrupt man.” Fangs says, mostly to himself as he checks out the windows of the trailer. 

“You’re telling me. They just had a second raid on a high school. They were arresting students, kids.” Sweet Pea sounds exhausted, and Jughead can’t blame him. 

“I bet they don’t even have warrants or probable cause or something.” Fangs mutters, taking a seat on the couch.  

“It doesn’t matter. You don’t have to follow the law, if you are the law.” Jughead says glumly, sitting down next to Fangs. “What do we do now?”

“Wait it out. They’ll have given up by tonight.” Sweet Pea assures, taking a seat on the other couch.  

The three serpents spend the next few hours pacing the small trailer anxiously as they wait for news about the other Serpents. 

Toni texts them soon after the raid, assuring them she is okay and asking if they are too. At some point, they end up on the Serpents Facebook Group Chat. 

Jughead remembers how hard he laughed when he found out that the high school aged Serpents had made this chat, complete with the snake emoji as the chat’s custom emoji. It seemed absurd that a gang that dressed like it came straight out of a 1950s-greaser movie, also had this connection to the modern day, but he’s grateful for it now.  

Eventually they hear some of the names of other kids who got arrested. Jinx and Rocco are amongst some of the Serpents that got caught. But Slats assures them that they were among the few. Apparently, the raid mostly caught Ghoulies members. 

“At least it wasn’t just Serpents this time.” Sweet Pea shook his head angrily.

“The Northside have gone too far. They don’t care about us, and have made it clear they would rather see us rot in a cell then live in their precious town.” Sweet Pea hissed.

“You’d think the mayor would have more concern for all her citizens, not just the rich ones.” Fangs says, somewhat sadly. 

Jughead can’t find himself defending the Northside, or the actions of Sheriff Keller. He’s heard the way that Northsiders talk about his friends. Talk about people who live on the Southside as though they aren’t real people, but pests that are dirtying up their town. 

It wasn’t the Serpents who drew the line in the dirt, it was the Northsiders. And Jughead refuses to let his friends be the ones who get hurt because of that. 

 

**FIVE**

Despite Jughead’s fairly recent change in friends, he cannot seem to develop a taste for different food. Thus, he is constantly dragging various Serpents over to Pop’s. Both out of loyalty to Pop Tate and out of loyalty to his delicious burgers and milkshakes.  

Most of the Serpents hated it at first, Jughead would watch as they grew more and more tense the further North they got. But Pop Tate never treated any of them any differently, and eventually his food won them over. This didn’t mean that any of them particularly enjoyed being on the Northside of town, but they could deal with it. 

Today Sweet Pea was accompanying Jughead. The plan was for Jughead and Sweet Pea to get a dozen burger meals to take back to the Whyte Wyrm, hopefully before Fangs realised that they took his car. 

Sweet Pea and Jughead enter the diner, and tenses when he spots seems Archie, Veronica, Kevin and Betty sitting at a booth.

He hasn’t seen Kevin and Veronica in a few weeks, and Archie and Betty are becoming more estranged by the day. Even so, he can’t help the sinking feeling in his stomach when he sees them all hanging out together without him. 

A feeling that for someone who has been a loner for as long as he has, is foreign. He doesn’t have any reason to be upset, they hung out without him before he joined the Serpents too. But still, seeing them all together, and happy makes him feel more left out than any other lunch time he sat alone.  

Sweet Pea bumps shoulders with him, and it grounds Jughead for a moment. Jughead gives him a small smile and the pair walk up to the counter and order their food. 

“Jughead!” Archie calls, only having just spotted his (ex?)-best friend. He turns around to the group and honestly, they look just as surprised to see him as he did them. “I didn’t realise you were around.” 

Betty can’t look at him. She is staring down at her drink, and it makes his mouth taste bitter. He knows it is because of his jacket, and who he is with, but he thought she would understand. He thought of everyone, Betty would understand why he had to do this. 

Kevin looks uncomfortable. And Veronica’s expression is so schooled that Jughead wonders not for the first time, how dark her past really is. 

But Archie is looking at Sweet Pea sceptically, like he’s a threat of some sort. And not as though he was just another teenager getting a burger from Pop’s after school. Jughead feels himself grow protective of Sweet Pea. He doesn’t know why; Sweet Pea can handle himself, certainly against Archie, but Jughead just doesn’t want him exposed to any of this scrutiny. 

He feels the way Sweet Pea tenses behind him, as though he suddenly feels like he is somewhere he shouldn’t be, and honestly fuck that. 

“Yeah, Sweet Pea and I were just grabbing some burgers to take back to the Whyte Wyrm.” Jughead says smoothly, moving to stand more in front of Sweet Pea. Blocking him from Archie's view. 

“You should eat with us.” He could have said yes. Told Sweet Pea to take the burgers back himself, and that he will meet up with him later, but he doesn’t want to do that. He doesn’t want to always be choosing Archie over the Serpents. Besides, Betty’s head whips up so fast at Archie’s suggestion that Jughead gets the memo. 

“It’s okay Archie. I’d hate to intrude.” The words hold a weight to them, that they can all feel, but no one comments on. Betty speaks next.

“Hey, no Jug, maybe you should eat with us. It'd be nice to catch up.” Jughead ignores how much his heart aches at hearing Betty call him Jug. 

“No really, it’s okay. We’re hanging out at the Whyte Wyrm tonight, and I promised Toni I’d be there. I don't want to bail on my friends.” Archie looks sad, and Veronica’s eyes flash fiercely as though she has a retort, but she stays silent.

“Have fun.” Kevin says, with an awkward chuckle. Jughead nods and turns away from the group, to go wait with Sweet Pea for their food. 

“That was awkward.” Sweet Pea mumbles. Jughead smiles at him. 

“Not as awkward as it will be if we don’t get back before Fangs realises we took his car.”

“I feel like that won’t be awkward, just dangerous. Like we will be in danger if that happens.” Jughead laughs, and the pair continue talking. 

By the time their food is ready, Jughead has successfully managed to block out the whole interaction with Archie.  

As they’re leaving the diner, Cheryl and Josie enter the diner, and Cheryl tosses them a dirty look. 

“Vermin.” She hisses.

And despite how much everything with Archie hurts, the warmth that spreads through his stomach, when Sweet Pea grabs his arm and literally growls at Cheryl, kinda makes it worth it.

 

**\+ ONE**

His head hurts. That is the first thing that become apparent as Jughead wakes up. And for the life of him he cannot remember why. He’s not hungover- the haze of alcohol isn’t lingering over his head, and he certainly doesn’t remember having any auras to suggest a migraine. 

He reaches up to his head and he realises that he still has his beanie on. He pulls it off, and runs his hand up through his hair, and finds the source of his pain. There’s a cut on his head, nothing too big, but the skin around it is tender and sore. He thinks back to the night before and remembers blurs of leathers jackets and being jumped on his way home. He thinks he recognised some of them, but most stood back and just watched. 

The kid who jumped him, managed to hit him in the head with something metal… maybe a pipe, before he spotted the Serpent jacket and ran for it. His friends following suit. 

Remembering that Sweet Pea fell asleep on Toni’s couch last night, Jughead realises he’s by himself. 

And despite his throbbing head, he decides that being at school with a throbbing head is probably better than sitting here by himself with a throbbing head.  

He gets dressed and drove to school, his head not lessoning in its pounding, despite the Tyenol he took for it. When he gets off his bike, he can see his hand are shaking, and honestly, he doesn’t need this to turn into a full-blown migraine, but knowing his luck that is the way he is heading. 

When he gets inside, he spots Toni and Fangs sitting at a table outside the school, and he sits down next to them. They both give him a strange look but continue their conversation. When Sweet Pea shows up, he is decidedly less discrete about it. 

“Damn Jones. You look like shit.” He says as he takes a seat next to Fangs. Jughead’s mouth quirks up. 

“Yes, thank you Sweet Pea. I know.” 

“What’s up?” Toni asks, genuinely worried in a way that reminds him of Betty. 

“Nothing. I got a bit of a headache. But I’ll be fine.” And while none of them look convinced, they let it go. Jughead breathes a sigh of relief, because honestly, he is still not used to people just taking his word and believing him. It’s a new feeling, but a welcome one.

None of them mention it again, but he can feel them looking out for him in their own way. Toni and Sweet Pea corner him between them, sending out glares to anyone who looks their way, both students and teachers. Fangs does his best to distract Jughead from his headache, by sending an onslaught on snake memes to the Serpent group chat. A concept that on a day like today feels absurd to Jughead’s tired mind. 

It’s a discrete support, but he feels more comfortable with this than any of the help he ever got at Riverdale high. The quietness of their actions calls for them to go unmentioned, like they aren’t doing it to feel good themselves, but just to make sure he is okay. It’s different from the public displays of affection that you see around every corner in the Northside. 

Despite how much he can feel them watching him, none of them bring it up. Something he is thankful for, he doesn’t think he has the energy to lie to them about how okay he is.  

Come lunch time, he is nearing full blown migraine territory. So much so that the edges of his vision have started blurring. When he stands to head to class he sways on his feet and Sweet Pea reaches out to catch him. 

By the time his vision clears all three of them are looking at him with concern. 

“I’m fine.” Are the first words out of his mouth. Toni raises her eyebrows in an ‘are you kidding me’ fashion. Meanwhile Fangs looks confused, and Sweet Pea just looks annoyed. 

“Piss of Jones. Come on.” He says, dragging Jughead out of the cafeteria. By now Jughead’s head is so sore that he doesn’t even have the effort to argue. Just follows along as he is pushed into Fangs’ car. 

The ride is blurry and Jughead can feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness. At some point, he thinks about his motorcycle still parked behind the school. 

He gets pulled from the car, and lead towards a door. It takes him a second to realise that it’s the trailer. 

“Thank you.” He mumbles to them as he decidedly collapses on the couch, and arm thrown over his eyes. He immediately falls asleep, and hopes they close the door on their way out. 

~~

When Jughead wakes, he can hear a movie he doesn’t know playing quietly. He peers his eyes open slowly to see Fangs, Toni and Sweet Pea watching some nameless action movie on the television Sweet Pea insisted on having in the trailer.

He doesn’t move for a moment, his head still far too hazy for him to be able to make sense of anything in front of him. 

“Aye, welcome Sleeping Beauty. You’re a bit early, no prince has come to make out with you yet.” Fangs says brightly, noticing Jughead’s woken. 

“How’s your head doing?” Sweet Pea asks, a genuine worry in his voice that is usually unheard of from the boy. 

“Yeah a bit better I think.” He says sitting up, not liking the way his vision blurs as he sits. Jughead pulls his beanie off and runs his hands through his hair, his eyes widening in shock when they come back bloody. 

“Is that blood?!” Toni asks just as shocked as him. Fangs and Sweet Pea are also looking at him in alarm. 

“I uh.” Jughead stumbles and Toni gets up, and inspects his head herself. 

“Jughead this looks like it was made with something pretty big. Like someone hit you.” Toni informed as she gently looked at the wound. His vision was beginning to blur some more and he just wanted some more sleep. 

“Oi! Jones! Did someone fucking hit you!?” Sweet Pea was crouched in front of him and Jughead doesn’t remember him moving there. 

“Yeah. There was some kid, I can’t remember. I think I saw Malachai.” Jughead mumbled. His head was getting fuzzier and he can’t really make out what anyone is saying. He is vaguely aware of him falling back down on the couch. 

He still can’t hear anything clearly but he can hear Sweet Pea and Fangs working each other up. _Don’t do anything stupid_ , he thinks before he falls asleep again. 

~~

The next time he wakes, his beanie is gone, and someone has taken off his jacket. The pain in his head has lessened considerably, and it looks like someone has thrown the quilt from his bed over him. 

His eyes are still half lidded and nobody has noticed him yet. He spots Sweet Pea and Fangs sitting on the other couch, both looking like they had been into a fight. Toni hands them some ice, and Sweet Pea presses on against his lip, whilst Fangs pushes his against his eye. 

Noticing he’s awake, Fangs looks at him and tilts his head to the side, so he looks right side up to Jughead’s blurry mind. 

“Ghoulies won’t be bothering you anymore.” He says, and Jughead doesn’t understand what that means, but the words sound safe so he goes back to sleep, feeling protected under the watchful eye of his friends. 

Later he learns that the kid that jumped him was trying to become a Ghoulie. He learns that the Ghoulies decided the best way to initiate a recruit was to get him to beat up FP Jones’ kid, apparently, the kid didn’t realise Jughead was a Serpent too. 

Toni rolls her eyes as Fangs and Sweet Pea excitedly re-tell how they gathered up some of the other Serpents and went down to the House of the Dead and tore the place a part in retaliation. She rolls her eyes, but doesn’t tell them they were being stupid, or that they shouldn’t have done it. Jughead finds an odd sort of comfort in that, a comfort in knowing that even Toni thinks he is worth defending like that. 

Jughead can’t really remember at what point being a Serpent became the most important thing. But they had proved they had his back, so he sure as fuck was going to have theirs. 

**Author's Note:**

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> 
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